Man's thirst for energy is rapidly depleting the worlds reserves of fossil fuels and the conversion of these fuels is rapidly polluting the environment and forcing ecological changes on the whole world. Modern man is concerned with his environment but he is more concerned with satisfying his needs for energy and these needs have created a fossil fuel economy which is headed for collapse due to the limited reserves and the ever increasing demands placed thereon.
Various alternatives to the use of fossil fuels for producing energy have been attempted but none have been able to compete with the convenience afforded by a fossil fuel powered engine or heating unit because of the simplicity of fuel storage and replacement.
One alternative to the use of fossil fuels is hydrogen which may be burned in all of the various engines serving man with essentially no pollution or change in the versatility and application of the engines. However, the portable storage and replenishment of suitable quantities of hydrogen poses a significant problem which heretofore has rendered the use of hydrogen as a fuel impractical. The drawbacks with using hydrogen as a fuel are created by the bulky systems used to store hydrogen. These systems normally employ high pressure tanks and cryogenic systems which are bulky, costly, difficult to maintain and infinitely dangerous to the point where the practical application of hydrogen as a fuel source has not been achieved.
An alternative to liquid hydrogen storage concepts is provided by the storage of hydrogen in stable metal hydrides, "Hydrogen In Metals," D. Westlake et al, Physics Today, November 1978. The density of hydrogen per unit volume is greater in many hydrides than in liquid or solid hydrogen. Compounds such as FeTi and LaNi.sub.5 absorb up to one hydrogen atom per metal atom at room temperature and release the hydrogen when the temperature is raised only a few degrees. Hydrogen fueled systems utilizing metal hydrides have not met with success however because of the time required to refuel a depleted fuel reserve.